The Beginnings
by I R Smalls
Summary: The First chapter of the adventure of Edipus and his friends into the dreaded Icecrown citadel.


He stood silently, oblivious to his companions, his eyes narrowed against the first rays of sun across the snowblasted peaks rising jagged around him. His eyes closed, allowing his mind to fly freely over to ramparts far to the north and west, below scourge gathered in all manner, beast of death and despair found force in the shadow of the Lich king.

"It has begun?" the question came, so soft he hardly heard it and in response, he only nodded.  
>A sigh escaped his companion, lost on the chill winds that pulled restlessly at his cloak. His shoulders straighted, setting himself against his task, it had indeed begun, and he knew what was needed. He turned now, to face them, his closest and most cherished friends, those whom had spilled blood and sweat beside him, those whom had come to the very ends of Azeroth to stand here on this peak with him.<p>

" The armies of the Lich king, Arthas, are forming on the footsteps of the citadel. The time has come where I must ask even more of you then I have thus far." The words were hard for him, he had asked so much already of each of them, and they had given over and over again without thought to personal gain.

His gaze swept across the group now, taking each into account, remembering each for deeds and bravery. The first an orc of epic stature, a legend in his own right for countless years of military service. Two axe handles gazed from behind mountain like shoulders as the orc casually ran a arm-thick wetstone across the edge of his wickedly curved knife. To his right, a priest and priestess, both experts in the healing arts quielty conversed, hands a flurry of motion as each acented whatever point they were currently making. Behind them, a casual smirk spread across the face of an elven mage as he pretended not to listen to their conversation. Finally his eyes fell upon the two that give him the most concern. An female orc, bound in spiked plate and robes of pure darkness, matched in size and stature only by the thickly reinforced steel of the tauren beside her. Neither speak, hardened like two towers of ice and steel and iron will.

" Edipus." The calm voice turns his attention from the company to the shadows below him. Darkness swirls, and shifts only slightly as an orc form emerges, his foot falls making no sound upon the leaves and snow. The orc nods, and runs a hand over the back of a massive black spider with a gentleness surprising to his race.

" We are all here it seems. The time has come for us to stand against Arthas and his minions. We will push to his very halls if we must. I know each of you, heart and body. But I must ask, and give chance to make choice to each of you, I shall not begrudge any choice you make, so here it stands." the tauren druid gazed again at his friends, and begind to turn to each in line.

"DrakenOrc, my friend how do you stand with this?"

The muscles of the warriors arms only pause briefly in his task of sharpening as a toothy smile spreads across his lips.

"Crystoline?, my dear how feel you?" The young blood elf priestess smiles only briefly, her back ridged, she offers a solemn nod.

"Faqs?" "Well, Edi, you know that we have a small chance, and taken into acount the... "FAQS!" "erm, yeah, I'm in, why not I mean after all, how many times does a priest get to..."  
>The druid only shakes his head as the priest continued to ramble, and raises an eyebrowl at the mage, who simply nods and winks.<p>

" And You two?" his gaze falls unto the orc and the tauren, former agents of the lich will betray your master?"

" No master of mine, not anyone, druid." The tauren replies with a snarl. " Nor mine" came the grating voice of the orc.

"Very well then." He turned at last to the hunter and his pet. "And you, Kill-gee, and Magi?"

"We are with you, Ed." the orc replied without looking up from scratching the back of the giant spider, Magi.

He turned once again to the snow covered peaks, to the shadow of the citadel rising in the distance.  
>"From this day we shall be as a fire sweeping away the scourge, we shall be as the frost, cold and merciless in our task. We shall be a legion of few in a land of scourge and filth, and we shall prevail."<p>

He turned his toughts now deep within as he swept the lands before him with steely eyes, he hardly noticed as the last of his companions mounted and took flight off into the rolling grey sea of clouds above him.


End file.
